What you see is what you get……. birds, animals, and all sorts of things, but remember; Work for a cause, not for applause. Live life to express, not to impress. Don't strive to make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt. .

Hi to all… I’m back for a while…

It seems so long since I was able to get on-board here. Been busy at Wingate and Sishen Golf Club with their OH and Safety induction. What a wonderful experience to be back up early everyday preparing for work before sun up….

We had a weekend off last and my son took us to Witsand, a place we had as yet not been to, this is what they say about it on a website…

“Witsand Nature Reserve in the Northern Cape is an exceptional eco-destination featuring geological and climatic anomalies that cause the desert sand to ‘roar’. This natural attraction is one of the Green Kalahari’s best-kept secrets. The birding here is exceptional, and you’ll see plenty of dry land wildlife.”

You have to know we went there full of excitement and I made the cardinal sin a photographer can make… I went with low batteries, no backup charged ones and of course forgot the charger at home. My video camera had just enough for me to capture something Linda and I would not have believed if we did not experience it….

It happened whilst sitting at the camp fire latish in the evening, having eaten well and just enjoying the noises of the bush, also feeding the genet cat that came to visit. Three springbok came up to the fire to visit with us. Linda and I kept quiet at first and stared in disbelief. ANIMALS ARE SCARED OF FIRE my brain screamed.

One started to lick on the braai grid that was cool, then came and started to lick in the ash of the fire. “THE FIRE IS HOT” I screamed under my breathe…. these springbok actually started to seek out pieces of charcoal that were not still glowing red, but warm and ate them.

This all happened within two to three metres of us and when we started to talk to each other in disbelief they carried on totally ignoring us…. I captured this on video and when back in civilisation I will download it to “youtube” and add a link for you to see…. here are a few photos first from Witsand and then a few from yesterday which I had a chance to get out and capture…

We leave tomorrow for Pretoria for a short while (a week) and then on the road again… but this will give me a chance to catch up a bit with you all… look forward to that… and to the odd blog I’m going to be able to post…

66 thoughts on “Hi to all… I’m back for a while…”

I’m so glad to see you back…I was getting a little concerned that perhaps you’d had another health scare. It sounds like you’re enjoying life and doing the things that mean the most to you. Lovely photos…it will be good to caught up with you even if it’s in small bursts. 🙂

Ah ha … you sneaked back into the scene during my vacation, … good to have you back! Although you’ve been busy, I imagine your camera is along, so you’ve taken many good shots to share with us in the future.

You and Linda have been missed!! Beautiful photos….though HORRORS of low battery, etc….have done this too many times and still not learned. SO looking forward to your video of fire eaters!!! Wow….. Take care ♥

Thanks Paula… the sand “roars” more in summer than now, but if you run your finger through it it feels like an electrical shock.. a type of vibration … but it actually growls when you run you hand over it…

Guess who is back in town…Bulldog yippee yay. 🙂 Thanks for the usual stunning photography as only Bulldog knows how. Enjoy your travels through my second hometown Pretoria. (Bulawayo my first) Sure you will visit the RH825/827 Viscount memorial on the Voortrekker Monument site. The fifth memorial service just yesterday Sunday 7 Sept at midday was very moving as we paid our undying respects to all victims and stood united against the DEAFENING SILENCE until this very day after the despicable downing of the two civilian aircrafts.
We shall remember them..! Hug for Linda. Zita

Thanks Joanne… I will be sharing the vids soon as I have now down loaded them to youtube… it was an experience that I feel very special to have witnessed… there ended three arround the fire one within touching distance from where I sat… I was totally “gob smacked”

Thanks Diana… now believe it or not I have no answer to that question… I know wild animals will on occasions lick ash for the salt or potassium content… but I have never known them to chew charcoal pieces, specially those that are warm… I can only think they eat it for the charcoal to counteract any toxic content they may eat… (charcoal being the best way to counteract toxic intake in humans) .. but I must admit I’m dumb struck by this and to have them within touching distance and Linda and I talking did not frighten them off… I will blog on this again when I can share the two video clips… it gives me time to contact a few experts I know…

Thanks Anneli… it is so good to be back… but it has been nice being busy earning some good money for a change… haven’t had a chance to get back to that final edit even… but a quiet time appears on the horizon before another busy time ahead… so maybe I can get it finished….

Thanks Ingrid I’ve missed you all too… but the extra money is well needed after all those hospital costs that came flowing in… I can’t wit to share the videos, in all my years of experience this is a first… in fact I’ve never even heard of someone else experiencing it…

yey!!!!! So good to hear from you – have to be honest I was getting concerned so fab that you are just busy working. Your little break sounds awesome though and what an experience with the Springbok. Have a great time in Pretoria.

Thanks Alex… will be posting more photos of all the birds in the next few days… it is the red breasted shrike… one of those always on the go and difficult to capture a good photo… yesterday I was lucky to get quite a few good ones….